AMMAN — Jordan's royal palace says the king has ordered more elections reforms following the passage of a law rejected as insufficient by the opposition. A palace statement says Abdullah II endorsed the law Thursday, letting an independent commission tasked with overseeing the vote later this year get started. But the statement also asserts that Abdullah wants more changes to give “all political parties” a better chance to win seats. The law enacted last week gives concessions to the opposition by allowing each voter two votes, compared with one under the previous system. One vote goes to local candidates and the other to a 17-seat national list, giving country-wide ideological alliances like the Islamists a better chance to compete with region- or family-based politicians. “The new law should increase the number of these seats to help develop political life in the country,” the king was quoted as saying in the statement, after a meeting with Prime Minster Fayez Tarawneh, Senate President Taher Masri and Lower House Speaker Abdelkarim Dughmi. The law, which needs the king's approval to go into effect, has raised the number of parliamentary seats to 140 from 120, including an expanded quota for women to 15 from 12. The powerful Muslim Brotherhood has described the law as “provocative,” saying they plan to boycott elections expected to be held by the end of this year. Calling on the king to reject the law, the Islamists said they were in talks with other political parties to form “shadow government and parliament,” as analysts warned against “official rigging” of polls. According to the constitution, elections should be organised every four years, but Jordan held early polls in 2010 after the king dissolved parliament. The Islamists boycotted those elections in protest at constituency boundaries, saying they over-represented loyalist rural areas at the expense of urban areas seen as Islamist strongholds. They have repeatedly demanded sweeping changes that would lead to a parliamentary system in which the premier would be elected rather than named by the king. — Agencies
